Roller och förväntningar

: En studie av rektorers och lärares syn på speciallärares yrkesroll

Abstract

The role of a special education teacher is complex, and often there is no common view on schools about what a special education teacher is supposed to do, something we think might contribute to stress and feelings of inadequacy among those in the profession. Through a deeper understanding of prevailing expectations, the first steps might be taken to reducing both stress and unreasonable expectations on special education teachers. The purpose of this study was to exam in what expectations headmasters and teachers have today on the role of special education teachers with a specialization in language, writing, and reading development. The methods used were mainly quantitative but with qualitative elements. The empirical data was gathered through a survey aimed partly at headmasters and partly at teachers. The theoretical framework for the essay is based on the systems theory, as well as two special education approaches, namely the categorical perspective and the relational perspective. The theoretical framework is the basis for all interpretation, analysis, and discussion of results in the study. The analysis of the results shows that headmasters as well as teachers have a great number of expectations on special education teachers. Among headmasters, these expectations often include support to other teachers, taking part in the student health services and being a pair of “extra eyes”. Teachers, on the other hand, often expect special education teachers to take a more direct role as an aid for the individual student, preferably outside the classroom environment. While expectations sometimes overlap, they also differ in essential ways. These differences show that a clearer description of the role of the special education teachers, in combination with good communication between special education teachers, other teachers and headmasters about the expectations that exist would be desirable.

Date of Award	2023-Jun
Original language	Swedish
Supervisor	Ann-Elise Persson (Supervisor) & Helena Sjunnesson (Examiner)